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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23234047">Blue delphinium</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicalcoconut/pseuds/magicalcoconut'>magicalcoconut</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Strix [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Action &amp; Romance, Agent!Chloe, Alternate Universe - Spies &amp; Secret Agents, Amanda is really shady, Android Gavin Reed, Android Hank Anderson, Badass Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Badass Upgraded Connor | RK900, Baker Island - Freeform, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Bottom Gavin Reed, Connor &amp; Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Criminal!Josh, Criminal!Markus, Criminal!North, Criminal!Simon, Cuts, Eerie Gavin, Elijah Kamski &amp; Gavin Reed are Siblings, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, GV900 - Freeform, Gavin Reed Needs a Hug, Gavin Reed Not Being an Asshole, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Gavin is a good boy, Guns, HK800 - Freeform, Human Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Human Experimentation, Human Upgraded Connor | RK900, Implied/Referenced Torture, Jeffrey is just trying his best, Kamski is kinda shady, M/M, Missions, Nines hates Gavin, Passive Gavin, Pining, Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900, Psychological Torture, RK900's name is Nines, RK900's name is Richard, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Spies &amp; Secret Agents, Spy!Connor, Spy!RK900, Thirium (Detroit: Become Human), Top Upgraded Connor | RK900, Torture, Undercover Missions, Unethical Experimentation, Unrequited Hate, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Is Bad at Feelings, Violence, Weapons, Zigma-LM - Freeform, keegan - Freeform, strix - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 13:00:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,517</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23234047</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicalcoconut/pseuds/magicalcoconut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The life of a secret agent isn't for the fainthearted. It isn't for the undisciplined either.</p>
<p>After what could be considered his first fuck-up ever, Richard finds himself working alongside a rather peculiar android named GV900.  What the android learns during their missions together leads Richard to a dilemma. He finds himself wondering where his loyalties lie and how much he’s willing to sacrifice for his unexpected companion.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amanda &amp; Elijah Kamski, Connor &amp; Gavin Reed, Connor &amp; Upgraded Connor | RK900, Elijah Kamski &amp; Gavin Reed, Elijah Kamski &amp; Hank Anderson, Hank Anderson &amp; Gavin Reed, Hank Anderson &amp; Upgraded Connor | RK900, Original Chloe | RT600 &amp; Connor, Original Chloe | RT600 &amp; Elijah Kamski, Original Chloe | RT600 &amp; Gavin Reed, Original Chloe | RT600 &amp; Upgraded Connor | RK900, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Strix [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1670485</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Bitches are still in love with Detroit: Become Human in 2020. It's me, I'm bitches. And I think you're bitches too.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Richard wasn’t naïve enough to believe his wishes would one day come true, yet he prayed every night he wouldn’t end up like the men surrounding him. Grey hair, eye bags and wrinkly foreheads all proof of the things they had seen and the secrets they had to carry.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Truth was, Richard was still at a peak of life where he liked -loved, even- his profession. Just two years on the force meant he was relatively new, finally getting a grip on what it entitled. Because when it came to dealing with this type of affairs, no amount of police work could’ve prepared him enough.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He wouldn’t deny he had landed on this job thanks to some string-pulling from Connor, his older brother. He was forever grateful, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with statistics that weren’t on his side. But even if he had his Keegan sibling to thank for this kind of deal, he wouldn’t underappreciate his own hard work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If he had stayed in <em>Strix</em>, it was because his seniors deemed him worthy. They could go past the initial nepotism and see his cunning, his loyalty, his abilities; the importance of his addition to the team.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And what a team <em>Strix</em> was, an agency of about a hundred people, all the best of the best. Full of former police workers and law enforcers with a sole purpose: safety. Whether it was citizens’ or government’s safety varied, but the essence was the same. They did dangerous things without anybody knowing. They avoided all recognition and skipped the climbing towards the peak of the iceberg. They preferred to dive into the deep and cold ocean no one else wanted to get themselves trapped in.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It made sense when he thought about it. You confront with the worst kind of people, and constantly have to deal with an enormous amount of pressure and responsibility (which comes with the job description). Being an underdog was just a string of blows that, at some point, take a toll on your mental stability.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Still, Richard wouldn’t have it any other way because, once again, he loved it. He enjoyed the thrill missions gave him and definitely wasn’t bothered by having to hide his identity. He couldn’t imagine a life other than that, and most importantly, when he accepted to join, he couldn’t have a life other than that anymore.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Although when Richard walked into <em>Strix</em>’s offices for the first time in that year, mind calm after a much deserved break (and who would’ve thought secret agents could have vacations?), he felt a strange sense of uneasiness settling on his spine, crawling through his back like dozens of spiders. Maybe it was the once grey walls now completely white, maybe it was the lack of grey hairs and eye bags in the building, maybe it was the new ‘DO NOT ENTER’ sign plastered on one of the doors, or maybe it was the woman -which Richard had never seen in his life- calmly conversing with a not-so-calm Fowler in his office.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jeffrey Fowler had the highest rank in <em>Strix</em>, he was the one who gave the orders and bossed around. He had been working for the agency for more than thirty years, his dark skin hiding better pressure of the job than that of his fellow Caucasian workers. Today he was wearing the same outfit he chooses everyday: a long sleeve dress shirt, a dark tie and black slacks. On the contrary, he wasn’t sporting his daily expression of boredom. His furrowed brows, constant sighs and fidgeting hands showed he was clearly getting stressed from the combo going on in there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Being the ever-loyal human he was, he concluded the lady was up to no good. He headed on to the ruckus to try and calm Fowler down. Nothing good would come out of a moody boss when the day was just starting. And, as an addition, he had plenty of questions he wanted an answer for.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He passed through rows of people occupied with their computers, hiding from the rest of agents his curiosity. He climbed up the stairs and knocked on the glass door leading to Fowler’s office. Both people inside the transparent space immediately ceased their talking and looked over to see who had dared to disrupt them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Fowler made eye contact with him, immediately shaking his head, denying the permission to come inside. His position was defensive, hunched over with his hands across his desk. On the other hand, the woman next to him seemed to light up, gesturing with her hand for him to approach the pair. Richard looked at his boss once again. He was only met with a sigh, no resistance, so he deemed it safe enough to enter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Opening the door, Fowler was the first to talk, the woman reserved herself to a bright smile. “What exactly do you need, Agent 99?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard remained quiet for a moment, not wanting both adults to notice he was studying the dark-skinned woman, but also indiscreetly staring. “I just came to inform you I’m back and fully ready for my next…task.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Noted,” Fowler sat back in disinterest. “Look for Connor, there is a ton of documents waiting to be analysed.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alright,” Richard almost let himself frown. He went out the way he came from, feeling the stranger’s stare all the way down to the bottom of the stairs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It must have been pretty serious, if his boss hadn’t even bothered to introduce her to Richard. It could’ve just meant it was none of his business, it was the most probable scenario. The change of colour of the building could easily be excused as nothing else but an esthetical choice and the lack of personnel could be nothing more but a coincidence of everyone choosing their vacations for the same day. It didn’t explain why the access to the rec room was blocked though.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That sense of uneasiness returned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He stared at those three words ‘do not enter’. The sign stared back at him. The room before him was silent, suspiciously silent. It wasn’t professional to question what was going on, it all ought to have a perfectly reasonable explanation. His traitorous gut screamed at him to investigate, he’s brain advised he stayed out of trouble.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ve been looking for you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard almost jumped in surprise, but managed to control himself at the last moment. Connor, who Richard did not see coming, brought him out of his trance. He was usually acutely aware of his surroundings. It also wasn’t like him to react to such meaningless things. Yeah, it was probably his mind messing with him. Those vacations definitely did something.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ve been looking for you too.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Connor slightly smiled and observed the door. “It’s tempting isn’t it?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“To know what’s happening.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It could be whatever.” Richard shrugged, as if he hadn’t been thinking about it himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I guess,” there was a long pause before Connor looked at his brother again. “But you know that’s not true.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Once again, what?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Connor ignored the question and turned around. “Let’s go to the intelligence room, I want to leave as soon as possible.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We can leave?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As both Keegans walked together, Richard learned they could. Turns out since entrance to the rec room was not allowed, you couldn’t get to the stairs to go to other floors. Since almost everything was out of reach, Fowler let a lot of agents go for the day, hence the lack of people.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They sat on a table, and that’s when Richard noticed -man, he really was out of it today- Connor was carrying a big stack of papers. Maybe they wouldn’t be leaving as early as he had hoped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I saw a man enter,” Connor muttered without looking over at Richard, instead occupying himself with one of the documents. “It was a whole crew actually, but he was the only one who didn’t have his face covered.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard got the memo and grabbed some papers himself. “Were they using masks?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Correct, hazmat suits actually. I thought they were going to the lab or something. Turns out I was wrong.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wait, they came in today? How early did you arrive?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No no, remember I got home late last night?” Connor waited for his brother to nod. “Well, I saw them as I was leaving.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That made Richard feel even more confused. Were this people on their side? What if it is all a trap? What if it was all a test? The possibilities were endless, and Richard itched for answers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Guess it’s not a good idea to question Jeffrey, right?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Definitely not, Agent 87 already tried, you know how he is.” Connor giggled a little.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No one was in the room with them, but they remained cautious for any intrusions. “Surely Fowler didn’t actually reprimand him.” He slid the corner of a page between his thumb and his forefinger, common fidgeting in him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, he didn’t, though I think it’s because our boss has a soft spot for him.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But at the end he still came empty handed.” Richard glanced between the door and his brother.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Connor nodded and moved on to another document.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So getting answers is not happening.” Richard sort of asked, sort of concluded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Connor nodded again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They continued to busy themselves with work. It was nothing that relevant anymore, just some notes, reports, files and documents of past missions. As spies, the duo almost never had the opportunity to put their hands on this kind of stuff. They received data from people and got shit done, only on rare occasions could they see the finished product of their efforts.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard wouldn’t complain though. It was usually the intelligence team’s job; write, review, sign and repeat. He couldn’t bear the thought of having to do that all the time. How could Chloe put up with this constantly? And now that he thought about it, where was she?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey Connor, where’s Chloe?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I don’t know,” he shrugged, “I haven’t seen her all day, maybe she didn’t come at all.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard hummed, for some reason he didn’t believe that. He decided to let it slide, there were more important tasks at hand than looking for a colleague.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When they were done, they headed to the exit. After getting inside the lift, they punched the code necessary for it to go up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The lift did not actually stop in several floors, it reached the lowest one, and that was about it. To get to the second and third floor you’d have to climb the stairs. And still, the lift had buttons from 0-10. If you pressed any of those buttons alone, nothing would happen, it would still look like an out-of-service elevator that happened to have its doors open. It was a really intelligent move from <em>Strix</em>’s part.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To actually get to <em>Strix</em>’s headquarters, you’d have to press the buttons 3-1-3-2-4-8-3-1-7-5-1. And only then would it close its doors and spark to life. Granted, it was a pain in the ass to remember as a rookie, but one eventually got it right out of habit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Even better, if an outsider ever managed to enter, it would be almost impossible for them to escape since, to make the elevator rise, you’d have to input a new series of numbers: 3-1-3-6-0-9-0-0-8-7.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once inside the warehouse above their building, Richard stopped near the start of a long piece of rubber. He stepped on a specific part of the material, it buzzed shortly after. Metal rose up from the ground, and what had been just some weird rubber carpet was now a conveyor belt (which conveniently hid the bottom half of the entrance to the elevator, masking what it truly was).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They left work with enough time for an early bird dinner, his stomach yelped in excitement. The whole car ride to get his hunger satisfied -since he wasn’t able to get even a cup of coffee from the rec room- was filled with silence, except for Connor occasionally reminding him it was bad to skip breakfast.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His mind wouldn’t stop repeating the same thoughts over and over again. The whole day felt off, like something was wrong. Richard knew he was overthinking, he had to be. It was <em>Strix</em> he was talking about, there was simply no way something could go wrong; Fowler being stressed instead of panicked was proof enough Richard’s brain wasn’t going in the right direction. Still, he hated when he couldn’t shake an impending feeling of doom off his shoulders.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>It had been an entire week, an entire motherfucking week where they couldn’t do their motherfucking jobs in motherfucking peace. Richard being pissed would be an understatement.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Each day, he came with his hopes partially up, only for that damn sign to dig a hundred feet deep hole and bury them. Whatever was happening in there was going at a snail’s pace because they made no noise, and it seemed like they made no progress either.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He knew his brother felt as frustrated as him, though Connor hid it better. His brother was never one for expressing his negative feelings as Richard was never one for showing positive emotions.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Weirdly enough, there wasn’t any commotion in there. No one entered, but no one got out either, so there was never a chance where Richard could catch a glimpse of what was going on inside those walls. His common sense told him they perhaps exited when there was no one left in the building. But even then, would Jeffrey stay with them until they finished, or would he still go home early? He surely stayed, he wouldn’t risk it, or at least Richard hoped he didn’t.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And that’s when he surprised himself, because it was not like him to question his superiors.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But finally, a Monday morning when both brothers arrived early, mentally prepared for another day of paperwork, a blissful surprise greeted them instead. The path to the rec room was clear. They sighed, full of satisfaction. Everything was exactly as Richard remembered it, except these walls were a clean, blinding white too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They reached the second floor, where Richard concluded there would be no more grey in the entire building.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“About time,” Connor mentioned as they climbed the stairs to the third floor.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“My weapon was malfunctioning during our last mission,” he glanced at Connor, keeping his eyes off the way they were heading. “It didn’t bring fatal consequences, but I still want to take it to the tech lab and check- oh, fuck me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There they stood, in front of the technologies lab. Only to find it how? Yes, that was right, unavailable. Black fabric hung from every glass wall, making the once visible-from-every-angle room completely hidden.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Language,” Connor tried to hide his smirk, finding the situation amusing rather than unpleasant.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Life is trying me.” Richard felt his hands twitch at his sides, they itched to grab that ‘do not enter’ irritating piece of plastic and yank it off the door.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“C’mon, let’s get you away from this, you can use another weapon.” Connor walked off but he didn’t feel his brother’s presence near. He glanced back, Richard was still staring at the door, as if it had personally done him wrong. “C’mon, you’re not actually considering entering, right?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What is so important anyway? It’s completely unprofessional to not let us do our job.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Get a grip man, we’re agents.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s my favourite fucking gun.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’ll fix it when you have the chance.” When Richard didn’t respond, Connor continued. “We’re not kids, Richard.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And his brother was right, so why the hell was he throwing a tantrum? There were hundreds of other weapons waiting for him. He wasn’t even that attached to his gun, for god’s sake. If he couldn’t enter, then so be it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He felt disappointment wash over him like a bucket of ice. The realization of having acted immature was unsatisfactory. He seriously needed to focus on what actually mattered. He couldn’t go around the agency acting like a child, or worse, an entitled bitch.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He joined his brother’s side with a sigh, his poker face on again. Accustomed to it, his brother wasn’t faced. He knew it only meant Richard was aware he was fucking up, and irritated about it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You are seriously not acting like yourself.” Connor tried to keep his voice in a teasing manner, though he was beginning to grow concerned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard’s actions were not what worried him, it was the consequence of his decisions. Everyone with this lifestyle snapped sometimes -Connor himself did so a few times- but, above all frustration, they respected the rules. It’s what kept them safe, what stopped them from becoming the enemies of the people they worked alongside with for years.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>For Connor, there was nothing more dishonouring than becoming a traitor. Because, for a long time now, life at <em>Strix</em> was all he was familiar with. And even if Richard had just gotten in two years ago, he knew the same applied to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I think my vacations are to blame, I arrive after a break and suddenly this happens.” Richard massaged his temples, trying to rub some common sense into his mind. “Yeah, I won’t rest again, ever.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Everybody needs a break now and then.” Connor slung an arm around Richard’s shoulders, weird, he was never one for contact in the workplace, and usually reserved that for when he was lecturing him. “Besides, you are a real control freak.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At that, they both chuckled, knowing it wasn’t just a joke. The exact core of his anger came from not knowing what was going on. Richard being stressed from not being able to work properly was just an addition.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Yet still, as the two Keegans walked away, something at the back of Richard’s brain whispered for him to shrug his brother’s arm off, to let go and just get inside the technologies lab.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Such a foolish thing to think about. Doing something explicitly forbidden would throw his recent hard work into the trash, he was completely aware of it. So, why couldn’t he tune out that voice? Why the fuck did he stop walking again for?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Richard?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Nobody needs to know we entered.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Connor huffed, placing a firm hand on his sibling’s shoulder. He resisted the urge to slap him, knowing nothing good ever came out of violence, not with his blue-eyed counterpart. He could always resolve anything with his younger brother with a good talk. It was proving to be difficult now though, with him being so stubborn over a petty circumstance.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What if someone sees us? We aren’t exactly off perimeter or something.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard looked at the floor in deep thought. “You can keep watch, that way you won’t be breaking a rule.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Engaging in suspicious behaviour, being an accomplice” Connor scowled, no longer amused by the absurd things his brother mustered. “Uh, no, try again.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“C’mon, Connor, it’s not that hard.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You are actually considering doing something that’s prohibited, what are we, police officers?” Connor crossed his arms. “What would I even say if someone did approach? You don’t even know if the room is empty, for god’s sake.” He kept his tone level, to not attract any unwanted attention, but deep inside his patience was starting to dissipate. It never took this long to convince Richard of something, especially if ‘something’ was common fucking sense.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“There are no cameras and I’ll just peek inside. If there’s someone, they won’t notice me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“There’s not a lot of personnel today, my guess is they’ll come in tomorrow.” It made sense, they’d surely be notified the second and third floors were accessible today. So by Tuesday, this floor would be fully functioning again. The scientists of the laboratory in front of the tech one would swarm the building. At that point, going in unnoticed would be highly unlikely. “This is our only chance.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Your only chance. I want nothing to do with this.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“My instinct tells me I need to do something. Please, Connor.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The older of the two just stared at him. For Richard, every second felt like an eternity; because each moment no one appeared by the stairs meant an opportunity wasted, a higher risk of being discovered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just when Richard thought Connor wouldn’t budge, he did. Agent 80 was full of fun little surprises like that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With a sigh, the brown-eyed man uncrossed his arms. “Fine, go on, I’ll keep an eye by the stairwell.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thanks a lot,” Richard let his lips curve upwards and began advancing towards the door.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah.” Connor tried to keep his annoyance off his tone, just for the sake of witnessing his brother smile. He didn’t see that often.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard settled his ear on the wall. Like before, there was no commotion inside. He didn’t hear any steps, any conversations, nothing. He tried the handle, it turned easily. No one had bothered to lock the door. Richard briefly wondered if it was a mistake or it was left like that on purpose. Maybe Fowler trusted his agents that much. He opened the door no more than a centimetre, enough for him to observe the room if he tilted his head just right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was almost blinded by the amount of light pouring from the inside, no doubt why they chose black cloth to cover the room. Even if his vision was slightly blurry, he noticed there was no movement.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The room’s empty, I’m going in.” He straightened his back and cracked his neck, something Connor always hated.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wait, Richard, that’s not-”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Without taking a moment to listen to his brother, and his logical reasons about why that was a stupid idea, Richard opened the door all the way. Once inside, the light felt even more intense. He blinked a few times, everything came into view.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well, everything was sort of an overstatement.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The walls that were not made of glass were, you guessed it right, white. But Richard wasn’t paying attention to that. The gears of his mind were turning quickly deciphering why he was seeing what he was seeing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The laboratory was nothing like what it’d been.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At the centre of the now completely empty room was a box of some kind. It was big, perhaps a container of different machinery and electronic devices. Another piece of black fabric was covering the whole thing. This time it was from the outside though. Richard grabbed the end of the fabric by the bottom of the box and retreated backwards, pulling it slowly</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was a single individual, sitting down on the cold metal floor of a cage. The confinement seemed small now, barely fitting the individual with his knees crossed. Richard guessed there would be more space if the stranger stood up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The gears of his mind were going crazy now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The stranger proved his theory right. As soon as the fabric fell entirely to the floor, his eyes opened. He stood up, facing the agent.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The younger Keegan stared. The man inside the cage was shorter than him by some inches, he had olive skin and wavy, mousy brown hair with some tufts falling on one side of his forehead. If he had a muscular body or not, Richard couldn’t pinpoint, due to the stranger wearing a black and white hoodie. Though his really tight pair of jeans told him the man was definitely not weak.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Even if his agent instinct kept him in a constant state of awareness, in the back of his brain he could sense a feeling of some kind, one he couldn’t filter out completely. The man was gorgeous.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Something bothered Richard. It was the perturbingly calm smile the stranger had on his face. It didn’t show any teeth, and the agent got a feeling it was supposed to be friendly. Although for whatever reason, it felt vacant.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was on alert. Not only because of the individual in front of him, but because of the thought of somebody entering. He could feel adrenaline pumping through his veins out of nervousness.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The only thing the agent could hear were his own footsteps as he moved closer. Just a feet away from the cage. He looked around without moving his legs, feeling the shorter man’s eyes on him the whole time. Sure enough, there was nothing and no one else. Him, the man, and the cage.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hello.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The agent flinched. The hairs at the nape of his neck stood up, and not in a good way. He faced the stranger again, he still had his face in that unsettling small smile. His voice was softer than Richard had expected it to be, a combination of airy and slightly deep. The stranger remained still, posture relaxed with both hands clasped in front of his body.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The man stopped smiling then. Though his eyes, a dark shade of grey (even leaning to green), remained peaceful. Blue eyes fell into pink lips. For one second -maybe two- Richard found himself distracted by that highly pronounced Cupid’s bow. Neither one of them moved.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With the proximity, Richard could make out other details. Thick eyebrows, long eyelashes, and a nose that made everything fit in perfect proportion. His face was littered with small not-so-noticeable freckles, but that was about it. No blemishes at all.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard’s eyes travelled down his clothes, and that’s when he noticed something so recognizable he couldn’t believe he had missed it at first. The man was cuffed. For some reason, the agent didn’t feel in danger at all.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Agent 99, I am Gavin.” He continued to use that silent, mutter-y tone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now that was alarming.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How did you know my-?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know everybody.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard tapped his fingers on his thighs for a moment. Not exactly the answer he was waiting for. “Who are you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I am Gavin.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Heard you the first time.” Richard frowned. As much as he tried to make sense out of the situation, he ultimately failed. Gavin remained silent, so he continued. “Why was the rec room blocked? Why are you here?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The ‘rec room’?” The shorter brunet tilted his head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You know what I’m talking about, the room on the first floor.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gavin looked to the side. “Rec room,” he faced Richard again. “The reason behind entry to said room being restricted to <em>Strix</em>’s personnel was that they needed to use both this space and the science laboratory.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That doesn’t make any sense.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Although I do not know the specific reason, I assume it was of aesthetical and privacy matters.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Care to elaborate?” Richard crossed his arms, interest a bit peaked by what the green-eyed man had to say.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The only room that blocks the stairs is the rec room. The stairs to the third floor are connected by a hall.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m aware.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Therefore, by blocking off that precise room, they also stopped the access to the third floor.” Gavin glanced behind Richard, his gaze travelled across a part of the lab. It felt weird, absent in a way; as if he was staring at the hallway behind those walls, instead of the walls themselves. “Since there is no way to block the stairwell other than placing big pieces of metal, they went for a door.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The rec room’s door.” Richard finished, not entirely convinced, but halfway there. “Why didn’t they place the metal you are talking about? They could’ve even hanged some curtains, like in here.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Fabric was used here because it is a room. Even with it, the only way to access is through the door. You are agents,” Gavin gave a firm nod, assuring himself of his statement “with only a curtain blocking you, more than one would have peeked inside, which would create a privacy breach.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What about metal, then? It’s the most viable option. They took an entire week of work from us. And why, just because it didn’t look nice?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I assume so.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Unbelievable.” Richard paced around, his indignation tried to resurface. When he looked at Gavin, it was instantly replaced by curiosity. “But if they wanted to keep this- or you, I don’t know, hidden so much, why was the door unlocked?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It was Amanda’s order.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard really wanted to ask who she was. He had a feeling Gavin wouldn’t respond to that question in particular.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why are you here, Gavin?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The man hadn’t moved at all, just when he stood up and those few times he moved his head, but that was it. He didn’t fidget, he didn’t lean his weight into one of his legs. He just stood there, perfectly still, fixing Richard with a stare. Although each second that passed made Richard feel less weary and more comfortable with the presence before him. His gaze felt no longer nightmarish, it seemed kind, warm even. For a moment, Richard felt like he wasn’t going to answer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Then he opened his mouth.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Inside this room?” With Richard’s nod, he answered “They brought me here.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’ve been mentioning them a lot, who exactly are they?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gavin hummed, voice never losing that quiet, soft quality. “They are a lot of people, perhaps you can specify more.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Fine, uh,” Richard took his time organizing his ideas, like they had taught him to. “What do they do?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gavin got closer to the glass wall nearest to Richard. It wasn’t a long distance to cover, cage less than a meter in width. “Many things.” He deadpanned, not adding anything more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Where did they come from? Are they from <em>Strix</em> too, or another agency perhaps?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I…” Green eyes fell to the floor. “I do not think I can disclose that information to you.” It was the first time he identified something in Gavin’s voice, disappointment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alright, then, do they have a boss, or a leader of some kind?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“They do,” the small smile that accompanied those grey eyes came back. “Would you like to know the literal answer, or the honest answer?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The truth is fine by me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Technically, Elijah Kamski is the boss. But, he does nothing without Amanda’s permission. So I believe you could say Amanda Stern is the one in charge.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard had heard that name countless times before. Unfortunately, he never had a face to connect it with. He’d never been assigned a mission revolving him, but he’d seen his name in multiple reports, and not in a bad way. Good to know they were on the same side, relatively.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Fuck it. “Who’s Amanda Stern?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I cannot tell you that either. I apologize.” The smile disappeared, his eyes stayed amicable.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard had the urge to reassure Gavin it was okay, that he would make do with what he could, and he should only share what he was comfortable with sharing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And that was terrible, because as a spy, that was definitely not what he should be doing, what he should be feeling. There was a cuffed stranger trapped inside a glass cage in <em>Strix</em>’s facility, and Richard was showing mercy, civility. Utterly ridiculous.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The agent heard a light thud. Gavin had placed a hand against the door, the other hanging near, due to the cuffs. It was a firm touch, completely unexpected. He even kind of leaned into the door.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you want to get out?” Richard couldn’t believe he said what he had just said. Something took over him, something incredibly stupid apparently.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I would not like to inconvenience you” For the first time, he made an expression other than hair-raisingly smiling: he frowned. His hand never left the glass. “But I will admit, it is not very pleasant.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And Richard wanted to decline, to inform him to go fuck himself. That’s what he should do, question how the hell he ‘knew everybody’, force some more answers out of him and flee the place before they caught him and his brother. Except it seemed his body had a mind of his own, and he was closing that foot-long distance between the cage and himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He couldn’t even touch the glass before a voice echoed through the room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Agent 99,” Richard felt his blood run cold. God, he’d fucked up bad. “What do you think you are doing?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Richard gets cornered into a deal.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Richard resisted the urge to swear. He avoided Gavin’s eyes, turning around to deal with what he had brought himself into.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In the room were now four more people. Jeffrey Fowler, the woman he had seen his boss with, a man who he didn’t recognize and Chloe. Whoa, Chloe? Wait a minute, where was Connor?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If the agent hadn’t known any better, he would’ve let himself frown. Instead, he succumbed to his default, emotionless state. His mouth remained shut. He knew nothing he said would actually matter, or help him in any way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His boss was seething, indisputably ready to murder him without a second thought. The woman with her box braids in a carefully elaborate hairstyle was just smiling calmly, her eyes told Richard to relax. Richard didn’t really think he could trust her on that. The unknown man was just standing there, amused, expectant even, but trying to hide it. Chloe glanced at him and Gavin on repeat, evidently nervous.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I can’t believe it.” The man huffed, “it really is you.” Richard glanced at his hands, only to find fists. “To think you would disobey an order, that’s not what we've taught you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The man took a step forward, Richard didn’t move. After a major error, he wasn’t about to defy his authority. He was stopped by a big yet delicate hand on his mid-torso. Both men looked at the woman detaining his boss.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh,” she shook her head, “Give the boy a break, Jeffrey.” Fowler looked at the woman as if she was insane. The older man furrowed his brow when she simply approached Richard. Once close enough, she extended her arm. “I don’t think they gave us time for a proper introduction the other day. I’m Amanda Stern.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oh. If that was Amanda, then the other guy with a man bun must be Kamski. Very different from the idea Richard had previously formed inside his brain. The man, about the same age as him, had fair skin, clear blue eyes and the faintest hint of stubble along his jawline, all pulled together in that bicycle-seat face that made girls go crazy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“A pleasure to meet you, ma’am” They shook hands. He was almost shaking in a weird mixture of fear and anticipation. His voice remained calm and firm, he wouldn’t demonstrate weakness. “I deeply apologize for my mistake, it was not the brightest decision.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t worry about it,” she smiled, “I see our GV900 caught your attention” She surveyed Gavin, serenely at first, then she frowned in displeasure.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…GV900?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why is he in a cage?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gazing at Gavin, Richard noticed the cuffs were nowhere to be seen. His hands were now free, still folded in front of him. He searched for answers in his eyes, only to find a weird device on his right temple. It was a light of some sort, shining blue, which was definitely not there before.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His jacket did say ‘GV900’. It was adorned with a beaming blue triangle, same shade as the band hugging his arm. Gavin met his stare, but said nothing. If things felt odd at the start, they were definitely heightening to bizarre by now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A voice he hadn’t heard before, Elijah Kamski’s, stepped in. “For your safety.” That made his eyes widen a fraction. He approached them, the three of them now admiring Gavin, who remained impassive.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Before Richard could question the man’s statement, Amanda talked, now full on glaring at Gavin. “Show him.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At first the agent had no idea what the woman was referring to. In no time, he did.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>One of the walls nearest to the door (where Chloe and Fowler stood still, witnessing everything) started glitching, disappearing a second later to reveal the real wall. Oh, had the cuffs been a hologram too?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A being appeared before their eyes, standing by a corner. He was a seemingly old male, if the grey hair and beard were anything to go by. He wore a grey jacket, much more formal than Gavin’s. It had the same blue triangle and band. He wasn’t near, so Richard couldn’t read what the jacket said, he guessed it was probably another series of letters and numbers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He had the light on his temple too, and his eyes were closed. After an awfully long time, it finally dawned on Richard.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He had been chatting with something that wasn’t human.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The realization hit him in the face with no mercy. A plethora of questions started popping in his brain. In front of him stood a sophisticated work, a technological advance Richard had never witnessed, and he lived in modern times.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And Gavin, GV900, whatever, had completely fooled him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It unsettled him how easily he had fallen for the robot’s tricks. When he first entered the lab, he recognized the eerie vibe the man exuded, but he was cuffed –falsely, he must add- and inside a fucking cage. How could that not be unsettling by itself? He would’ve had never pinned it on the man being a machine, a ground-breaking, exceptional machine.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Yes, maybe his posture was too undisturbed, back straight, legs unmoving. His voice was tender, pitch turning each word he said to a soothing mutter. His gaze was peculiarly absent, but not particularly empty. It sparked with life, how was he supposed to believe it didn’t have any?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Wrong moment, he was probably still in trouble, yet he couldn’t help but feel intrigued.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What did you do?” Kamski sounded as stunned as Richard felt.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> “I put it in stasis.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Because it would hurt Agent 99 if he crossed the door.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So that’s why it didn’t attack.” Richard heard Amanda murmur. “And you wanted the victim all for yourself?” She attempted to keep a sneer away from her face, but her words dripped in something bitter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, I was only going to bring him to you. He was not following the rules.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You know you shouldn’t get out.” She pointed to his now free hands, still tightly clasped together. “You even put on a show, with those cuffs and what not.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“My programme said so, it estimated honesty would not work.” His little pout made everyone in the room want to immediately forgive him. “I was just trying to persuade him.” Amanda was relentless, seeing past its manners, into its wires.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, you were deceiving him.” For her, it was indignant that a machine would try and fool a human. They were its creators, they deserved respect. GV900 was supposed to be the one being experimented with, not the other way around. “I’m disappointed. You’re here to serve them. Leave the sanctions to us and HK800.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Understood.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You are not allowed to hack it, or anything else, actually. Refrain from using your holograms too, unless it’s for a task.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Understood.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Knowing it was useless to get angry at an emotionless machine, Amanda ignored her displeasure. “Wake the android from stasis once we are out of here.” She faced Agent 99 one more time. “Follow me, please.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As they got out, his boss followed them. Chloe and Elijah stayed behind, probably to check on the other robot. Amanda began a serious explanation of what he had witnessed. Fowler simply stood by her, never once interrupting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>GV900 and HK800 were androids designed by Elijah Kamski, built by him and many <em>Strix </em>employees of the intelligence and science departments. Unique in their kind, the most sophisticated piece of technology the present had to offer. Their blueprints were safely hidden away from other nations.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Easily disguised as humans due to their realistic appearance. Each of their parts handmade by the most competent people in the field. Long nights spent in forging and delicately assembling each finger, limb and plate. Multiple days gone by as they constructed each being carefully. Every freckle and mole was manually painted into the canvass that was their clear skin. Eyelashes, eyebrows and hairs refined and polished to resemble the real deal. Eyes detailed with such precision they seemed to guard a soul behind them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They had access to anything that was on the web. Both could understand complex topics (like math, chemistry, biology, history, etc.), drive about any type of vehicle you could think of and hold a conversation about practically anything. Although their functions were definitely not reserved to that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>HK800 was Elijah’s first creation. Its objective was to serve in the medical field. It possessed an enormous amount of knowledge on the subject, but that wasn’t the best part. What made it highly developed were its special assets, including: a liquid inside its mouth, which sterilized material in seconds; blood bags of all types and solutions of intensive use, stored in its belly; hands that could charge with more than enough energy (without damaging it’s systems) to give an electric shock, in other words, defibrillator palms.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Theoretically (since they haven’t been tested), the android Richard saw at the corner of the lab could run at 40 miles per hour, and Gavin, at 60 miles per hour.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was meant to have a friendly demeanour. Hence the grey hairs and soft features. Its blue eyes were big yet narrow, and its face was subtly decorated with different fine lines. “Like a friendly grandpa.” Amanda, very ungraciously in Richard’s opinion, compared.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>GV900 was the next and last android built under Elijah’s mentoring. Also built after him, hence the resemblance. Agent 99 was already aware of most of its exterior, so Amanda skipped that part.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Where other machines crumbled under their limited programming, Gavin succeeded. Its purpose was to help spies in their missions. It was made to have a human partner, but as its self-learning software progressed, they calculated it would soon hold on its own.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Its body was constructed with minimal weight as a safe measure, in case things ever went wrong. If it ever got injured or wasn’t able to walk on its own, its colleague could easily move and carry it. Even with its ultra-light condition, it could lift for short periods of time and throw approximately seven hundred pounds, so it was not easily crushed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When placed alongside HK800, GV900 seemed exceptionally small, though it was actually of average height. It wasn’t made as tall as its robot counterpart because it didn’t fit with its espionage goal. Its current height aided in his performance, giving it a high aerodynamic quality.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It had a perfect aim, whether they handed him a gun or another type of weapon was unimportant. Its kick had enough force to send the average human flying across a room. Its punch packing enough strength to give a person with no personal protective equipment a concussion. It could successfully get rid of a target no matter the circumstances. Its programming gave it the ability to drive every commercial plane or military vehicle, aircraft and helicopter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> “Versatility at its finest,” Amanda had mentioned. It had plenty of other not-so-work-oriented features, though she didn’t indulge him with learning about them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>GV900 was assembled right there in <em>Strix</em>, reason why the rec room and all the other floors were locked. Its parts were brought and put together in the technology laboratory. HK800 on the other hand had been finished for the better part of a month or so, stored away for when the right time came. It was transported with the newer model to the underground base.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The reason why they had a state-of-the-art status, was a rare substance Elijah thoroughly designed in the agency’s science lab: Thirium 310. The main ingredient in its name. There was now an entire supply of the liquid stocked in one of the room’s freezers. Like a human’s blood, it circulated through the android’s physical system, sustaining the energy and information necessary for its internal modules to function.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At least now he had some context of what he had just seen. Though it struck him as odd that she didn’t mention who she worked for or with, not even once.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Shouldn’t those machines be in the military?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And let the rest of the world know about them?” Amanda chuckled</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I guess you are right, ma’am.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Silence fell upon the group. Richard looked around the conference room they had entered into mid-conversation. It was like he remembered, something he hadn’t experienced in a while. They were sitting in the same chairs of the same mahogany table. It felt nice, grounding even, to finally recognize something.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why are you telling me this?” Richard was weary. Maybe they were just trying to sugarcoat his punishment, or perhaps trying to spend some time before telling him he was out of <em>Strix</em> for good. Hell, if they were just distracting him for somebody to come and kill him, he wouldn’t be surprised.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amanda didn’t lose her calm mien. She looked straight at him, Richard had to supress a shiver. Her gaze wasn’t evil, per se, it merely felt empty. “Because you’re going to be working with GV900.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…Richard probably hadn’t heard the woman right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Pardon me, ma’am, I don’t mean it in a rude way but,” he squinted. It was more of an I-don’t-believe-you than I’m-threatening-you look. “Are you serious?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m not one to joke around, Agent 99.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard stared at Fowler, the man tilted his head towards Amanda. “You heard the lady.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’d hate to say you don’t have a choice.” She looked at her index finger as she drew a circle on the table. “So instead, let me mention this:” she stopped the motion to look at Richard, a calm smile on her face. “If you do accept, then your terrible mistake won’t bring you any trouble.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That was one hundred percent a threat, one his boss should’ve dealt with. If Amanda Stern could pop out of nowhere and put his job in danger, she must’ve been important. Too important for Richard’s liking.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If he ignored the obvious power display though, the idea didn’t sound half bad. He was being given the opportunity to have the world’s most advanced android in the palm of his hand. Gavin, a technological masterpiece. Gavin, his tool. Even better, he wouldn’t face consequences for his stupid actions. He would never let his impulses overpower him like that again. But it would be just as dumb to not accept this quick fix and move on.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard enjoyed working alone. A mere matter of taste, he worked just as well alongside others. It wouldn’t harm his performance. If GV900 truly was as Amanda portrayed the robot to be, then there should be no problem.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Like she had implied, he didn’t have much of a choice either way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alright,” He resisted the urge to cross his arms. It didn’t sit well with him to be menaced.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It tricked you, treated you like a toy to test his preconstructions and ideas. You’re not opposed to the idea of working with that machine?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Wasn’t she supposed to be convincing him? Richard grinded his teeth. “I’m not.” His voice was firm, determined.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amanda gave him another smile. It was starting to feel more cynical each time. He ignored it in favour of relishing in the fact he didn’t have to concern himself with any issues with Fowler.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Little did he know, GV900 would soon be his biggest trouble.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>When Richard arrived home, Connor was watching a documentary on TV. He opened the door to his brother lazing on the sectional sofa. They stared at each other from afar. The younger Keegan could practically see his sibling slowly coming to his senses. As his brown eyes widened, a gun was aimed at him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Connor had never jumped as high and as fast as he did in that particular moment, hiding behind the furniture.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Where the fuck were you?” He spat out, actually considering taking the safety off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I tried to warn you from entering.” Connor’s voice was firm. He was clearly not scared, only cautious, in case Richard did lose his common sense. “I didn’t have enough time to go and get you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You could’ve at least entered with me, take a part of the blame.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The older Keegan stuck a part of his head out. “That’s stupid and you know it,” he squinted.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Having enough of his own antics, Richard lowered the gun and sighed. “I know.” He entered the living room to sit on the couch.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Connor stood up and joined him, they watched the film quietly, tension filling the air. If he were to be honest with himself, he was disappointed. It wasn’t like him, the older supposed-to-be-more responsible brother, to leave Richard behind. They were adults and all, but it felt wrong either way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I barely avoided Fowler. What did he do to you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Nothing,” Richard ignored the other Keegan’s stare, eyes fixed on the TV.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Connor gaped at him at first. He composed himself and blinked a few times “I think I didn’t hear you clearly, did you say nothing?” He said in disbelief. That undoubtedly didn’t sound like their boss.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard updated him to the recent series of events. How he’d been interrogating a man in a cage, who he later discovered was an android. The way it hacked another robot, hid it, and tried to persuade the agent into opening the glass he was trapped in with a whole show. Its plan to snitch on him. Everything.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He moved forward to the conversation he had with the Stern woman, mentioning how strange it was she didn’t talk about herself at all. Usually, in businesses like the ones <em>Strix</em>’s agents partook in, if you presented yourself to someone new, you’d told them who you were and your rank, or the people you worked for/with. Not this woman.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He skipped the technicalities and got to the point; GV900 would be working under his tutoring.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No way.” Connor raised his eyebrows, studying their coffee table thoroughly like he’d believe it more that way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s what I thought.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And you’ll be working with…with that?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Richard nodded. “It’s a self-learning AI, so hopefully it won’t be long before it starts working alone.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I can’t believe you accepted.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, Connor,” his brother mustered with annoyance, “I didn’t have many options to choose from.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Connor cringed, he hadn’t meant to strike a nerve. “Right, sorry.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The blue-eyed brunet frowned. Briefly after, his features relaxed and he let out a deep, tired sigh. “It’s in the past now, don’t worry about it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They rested in comfortable silence while the documental played out. Connor soon laid his legs on Richard’s lap. “Get your smelly feet off of me.” He threw them to the floor, his sheer force almost making Connor fall too. Good thing about both being fit: they could play rough.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Apparently Connor wasn’t in the mood for a battle tonight. He just adjusted his position on the couch, “fuck you, I just took a shower.” He then began to rub his feet all over Richard’s face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They laughed, both feeling immediately lighter. A good end to a shitty day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading! Next chapter is considerably longer.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've had this story hidden for the longest time now, it's time for it to come out. I don't have all the chapters written yet, but I do have a detailed idea of how it all plays out. I hope you'll find the plot interesting and my writing good enough to stay :)</p>
<p>Please tell me if you find any mistakes, since English isn't my native language. </p>
<p>Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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